1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related to an improvement in the structure of an adjustable spray cup of water sprayer. The structural improvement is primarily characterized in that the spray cup is embedded in the main body of the water sprayer to provide a tight, leakproof connection between the spray cup and the main body as the spray cup is rotated to align its nozzle with a water outlet. When the spray cup is connected with the main body, a connector is pinched therebetween such that when the spray cup is rotated to align its nozzle with the water outlet, the waterflow can be adjusted to create variations in the dimensions of the water stream.
2. Description of the Prior Art
various types of water sprayers are known in the market. The complexity of the structure is related to the desired number of stream types to be generated. One known type of water sprayer which has a simple structure and yet can generate a variety of stream types is shown in FIG. 1. Water sprayers with this structure have existed in the market for approximately five to six years. The structure generally includes: a handle (1); a main body (11) formed integrally with a connective conduit (12) with an end extending outside the main body (11) and screwed to a press plate (14); a valve opening (15) with a reduced diameter at the front end of the conduit (12) wherein the valve stem (13) can block the valve opening (15) and thus prevent the water pressure inside the conduit (12) from flowing through the water outlet (16), and if the valve stem (13) is pressed backward by the press plate (14), the water pressure inside the conduit (12) from flowing through the through the water outlet (16); and a spray cup (17) having a plurality of circumferentially spaced nozzles (171) (generally four to six nozzles 171)) wherein each of the nozzles (171) is designed to have a different shape (for example: declined triangular shape, linear groove shape, loose shape or foggy shape, and netted shape) to generate various types of water streams according to the water pressure flowing through the nozzle (171). The spray cup (17) is connected to the central column (181) inside the main body (11) by a screw (18) passing through its assembling hole; a locating configuration (19) is mounted within the main body (11); and a locating slot (172) is arranged with a suitable angle on the inner wall of the spray cup (17) so that as the spray cup (17) is rotated, the nozzle (171) of the spray cup (17) can be exactly aligned with the water outlet (16) by merely aligning the locating slot (172) with the locating configuration (19) of the main body (11).
Although the structure of such known water sprayers is simple and can generate a variety of stream types (at least four types), some potential disadvantages exists. In particular, the spray cup (17) is connected with the central column (18) of the main body (11) by a screw (18) passing through an assembling hole to connect the spray cup (17) to the main body (11), however if the screw (18) is screwed too tight, there is no flow permitted while the spray cup (17) is rotating to align its nozzle (171) with the water outlet (16). On the other hand, if the screw (18) is screwed too loose, no tight closure can be achieved as the nozzle (171) of the spray cup (17) is aligning with the water outlet (16), so that the water pressure flowing through the water outlet (16) can not enter the nozzle (171) without leaking.
In addition, with the spray cup (17) being connected to the main body (11) by the screwing of the screw (18), after rotating the spray cup (17) to align its nozzle (171) with the water outlet (16) many times, the screw (18) may loosen so as to not provide a suitable tightening force to prevent water leakage. If the spray cup (17) cannot maintain a longtime tight closure with the water outlet (16), the water sprayer is unusable and will have to be discarded.
Moreover, in this type of water sprayer structure, when the press valve stem (13) of the press plate (14) is positioned such that the water pressure flows through the valve opening (15) and the spray cup (17) is rotated to align the next nozzle (171) with the water outlet (16) in order to change the spraying stream type, a back pressure will be created unless the valve opening (15) is closed before rotating the spray cup. This back pressure causes the water pressure flowing through the water outlet (16) leak around the peripheral of the water outlet.
In addition, in this type of water sprayer, the spraying stream type is confined by the structure and unless the nozzle (171) is absolutely aligned with the water outlet (16), there will be the potential for leakage. Therefore the water pressure flowing through the nozzle (171) is unchangeable during use, and the stream type coming from the netted holes on the spray cup (17) surface cannot be generated.